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Fibre to Fabric
In this lesson, let’s explore the following objectives:
1. Identify sources of natural fibres
2. Identify properties of natural fibres
3. Identify synthetic fibres
4. Identify common properties of synthetic fibres
Introduction
What do you wear today? We all wear fashionable clothes today. But were they available
during the older days? Let’s go back to the Stone Age. Do the people of the Stone Age
wear clothes as we wear today? No. They were using the animal’s skin to protect from
heat and cold. Some prehistoric people use even leaves to cover their body. There was no
proper information about when people started wearing clothes.
Then how do they get the idea of wearing clothes? Well, they used to sew animal skin
when they tear. They used the same technique to sew the cloth. Cloth or clothing is a
different type of materials we wore on the body to protect us from heat, cold, rain and
any weather conditions.
But how clothes are made? Do we obtain it directly? As the time passed, people started to
make yarns from plant fibres and also from animal fibres. Later, they sew the fibres to
make a beautiful cloth. Neanderthals was the first people to sew clothes as they sew
animal skin.
Sources of Natural Fibres
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A material which is available in the form of thin and continuous strand is known as fibre.
They are extremely long threads that can be converted into yarns which in turn are
converted into fabrics.
Did you know?
The word ‘fiber’ comes from the Latin phrase which means ‘it looks like threads’.
Fibres can be classified into two types:
1. Natural Fibres and
2. Synthetic Fibres
Interested to watch a video on types of Fibres:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ_8lZS56qQ
Natural Fibres: As the name implies; the fibres that are obtained from plants and
animals are called natural fibres.
Examples of natural plant fibres:
a. Cotton from cotton plants
b. Jute from jute plants
Examples of natural animal fibres:
c. Silk from cocoon of silkworm
d. Wool from the fleece of animals like goat and sheep and
e. Wool from the hair of rabbits, yak and camels.
Sources of Natural Fibres
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Most natural fibres are known to be good absorbers of sweat and other liquids. Now, that
you all are aware of natural fibres, let’s study some of its properties.
Do you know?
Cotton is the commonly used fabric in the textile world. This fabric dates back to
the 3000 B.C. in Egypt
Properties of natural fibres
1. Cotton is a natural fibre obtained from plants, it is light in weight, feels soft and
smooth.
2. Jute is another natural fibre obtained from plants and it is rough and a strong fibre.
a. Cotton from cotton plant b. Jute from jute plant
c. Silk from silk worm d. Angora Wool from goats
Silk is an example of natural animal fibre, it has soft and shiny nature. You must have
seen silk sarees from the regions of TamilNadu. Their texture is so soft and it is shiny.
Original silk sarees are woven from the silk obtained from silk worm.
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Wool is a good example for natural animal fibre, it is fluffy and smooth in nature. Since it
is fluffy, it will trap the air inside and make us feel warm. This is the reason why we use
woolen clothes in winter.
But, if we continuously rely on the natural sources of fibre, either from plants or animals,
would we able to wear the fashionable clothes of today? Why?
Even though natural sources of fibres are available, to meet the needs of clothes of people
around the world, the natural sources are not sufficient. Moreover, do you know that we
have to kill the silkworms to get silk? So, we have to think of an alternative for making
our clothes. This thought give rise to synthetic fibres. Let’s see what are the sources of
synthetic fibres and how they are made?
Interested to know more about Cotton?
Have a look at the 10 interesting facts about Cotton:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11H70RH8N-Q
Synthetic Fibres: Natural fibres were the only type of fibres that were available for
making fabrics for thousands of years. Later, fibres were made from chemical substances
prepared from raw material petroleum called petrochemicals.
These types of fibres are called synthetic fibres or man-made fibres or artificial fibres.
Examples of synthetic fibres are Polyester, Rayon, Nylon and Acrylic.
Identifying Synthetic Fibres:
Polyesters:
a. Polyesters are widely used in clothing fabrics.
Examples include polyester shirts, jackets, pants, polyester hats, etc.
b. Polyester is used in making furnitures.
c. They are used in home furnishing materials such as bed sheets, curtains,
blankets, and pillowcases
Polyester Clothing Polyester Home furnishings
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Rayon:
Rayon is synthetic fibre with similar
characteristics with that of silk and it is cheaper
than silk. It is extracted from the pulp of wood.
Rayon is widely used in clothing industry.
When infused with cotton or wool, it is used for
the preparation of bed sheets and carpets.
Nylon:
It is often used to make satins, chiffons, fishing nets, ropes, parachutes, etc. Nylon is
strong, machine washable, wrinkle-resistant and elastic, but it does not absorb well.
Nylon fishing net Nylon ropes Nylon Parachute
Acrylic:
It is strong, machine washable, wrinkle resistant and dyes well, but it pills and cannot
absorb very well. It is often used in fake fur, knits, and fleece and as an imitation of wool.
It blends with wool, cotton and rayon as well.
Do you know?
Nylon is the first synthetic fibre developed by Wallace Carothers, an
American researcher at the chemical firm DuPont in the 1930’s.
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Properties of Synthetic fibres:
a. They are soft and lightweight,
b. Durable and do not wrinkle easily.
c. Dust and impurities are less in synthetic fibres.
d. They are strong and can sustain the heavy load.
e. They are elastic and can be easily stretched out.
f. Synthetic fibres are water, stain, heat and chemical resistant.
g. They are not attacked by moths.
h. They are cheaper as compared to natural fibres.
So we know, the different types of fibres. Let’s see how woolen clothes are obtained
from the natural fibres of animals. What is the process involved during the making of
wool?
Natural Fibres from Animals
Wool: Wool is a protein composed of amino acids, very much like our skin and hair. In
different world regions, particular wool fibres traditionally enjoyed the highest
popularity.
In Europe: Sheep, goat, mohair and angora.
In Middle East: wool from Camel (Kazakh).
In the foothills of Himalayas: Cashmere
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The production technologies have advanced with times and thus these days, we have
access to any wool fabric type. That is why it is important to know some important
features of wool.
1. Features of wool
a. Warm
Wool fabrics are perfect for winter
apparel, because wool fibres’ do not
conduct heat and allow the body to keep
its temperature.
b. Strong
Wool fabrics are strong, durable and
resistant to tear.
c. Flexible
Wool fibres’ are naturally elastic and
capable of stretching.
d. Absorbs moisture
Wool fibres’ are water-repellent and
absorb moisture.
e. Dyes easily
Wool fabrics can be dyed in any color and
are colorfast.
f. Biodegradable
When a wool product is buried in soil, it
is naturally biodegradable and provides
nutrients to the soil.
2. Process of making wool
We know that wool comes from sheep, but how it transforms from a sheep’s fur to
material to be worn is a journey. Wool goes through a multi-step process to clean it,
regularize it and transforms it into soft yarn. Although machinery can make the process
much faster today, in most ways the process is the same as how people have been
preparing wool for centuries. Let’s look into the different steps.
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a. Shearing the Sheep: Sheep farmers shear their sheep using an electric tool similar
to a razor that removes the sheep’s entire fleece in one piece.
b. Cleaning the wool: A simple step of washing the wool which removes dirt, other
contaminants and natural oils from the wool.
c. Carding the wool: Carding is a process that pulls them through fine metal
teeth.
d. Spinning the wool into yarn: Spinning turns the wool pieces into a
material that’s usable. Spinning uses a wheel to spin 2-5 strands of wool
together.
e. Weaving and Knitting: The process of arranging two sets of yarns together to
make a fabric is called weaving. In knitting, a single yarn is used to make a piece
of fabric. Some wool yarn is sold directly to consumers, who use it to craft
hand-made scarves, sweaters and other clothing.
f. Dyeing: Wool quickly absorbs water, which makes it very easy to dye. It can
be dyed at almost any stage of the process, depending on what the final
product will be.
Silk
Silk is an animal fibre produced by certain insects and arachnids as building material for
cocoons and webs, some of which can be used to make fine fabrics. Silk is the only
continuous natural fibre and like wool, it’s a protein-based fibre.
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1. Features of silk:
a. Elasticity
Silk is flexible and has some elasticity to
it which allows it to pull itself back into
shape after stretching to some extent.
b. Absorbency
Silk is fairly absorbent. Water weakens
the fibres.
c. Lightweight and breathable
Silk is a lightweight, breathable fabric,
which means it reduces the risk of
overheating when you’re going about
your day.
d. Thermal regulation
Silk’s good at maintaining your body
temperature which means it can help you
feel cool in hot weather and warm in the
cold.
e. Drying speed
Silk is fast drying which makes it highly
practical when managing your laundry or
just going about your day-to-day
business.
2. Process of making silk:
Step 1: Sericulture
The term Sericulture is used to describe the process of gathering the silkworms and
harvesting the cocoon to collect the materials. Silkworms are really not worms; they are
the larvae of “bombyx mori” moths. Silkworms are actually domesticated insects,
incapable of flight, mate quickly after emerging from their chrysalis and die a day or so
after laying eggs.
Step 2: Thread extraction
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The next step is the thread extraction. After the silkworms have spun their cocoon, they
will eventually enclose themselves inside it and then it’s time to extract the silk threads.
Step 3: Dyeing
Silk yarns are washed and degummed by immersing the skins in large tubs of hot water.
After this process, there is also a bleaching and drying process. Dyes are prepared in a
dye bath. Once the dye is ready, the bundles of clean threads are then immersed in the
dye bath for several times over many days to achieve the proper color tone and quality.
Step 4: Spinning
The traditional spinning wheel has always and will always be an integral part of the silk
production process. Using spinning wheels, dyed silk skins are then unwound by hands
onto wooden or plastic bobbins to be prepared for warp or weft in the weaving process.
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Step 5: Weaving
Weaving is the process in which the final piece of silk comes together. There are many
different ways in which silk can be woven such as satin weave, plain weave and open
weave are most common and the finish of the silk will depend on the type of the weave.
Generally, weaving involves interlacing two sets of threads so that they lock around each
other and create a strong, uniform piece of fabric.
